Surly Bender

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Can from SoLan, my man. A clean, roasty coffee smell, much like a porter, but less roasty. Lightly floral. Goes down as well as any beer, with a smooth malty goodness to it. A very very nice brown.

Filled with vanilla and barley/oat richness. It’s like a blend of doppelbock and oatmeal stout. Super, super smooth.

can from brewso: pours a dark brown colour with a 1inch foamy tan head.aroma is roasted nut,malt and sweet fruit hops. flavour is nutty with some raosted chocolate and sweet malts with a touch of bitterness in the finish. the palate is very nice and smooth.

On tap at Old Chicago. Nice chocolate and caramel aroma, nice hops. Very nice mouthfeel and goes down beautifully.

Original rating, 12-19-06: 16 oz. can. The aroma is strong, hoppy, yeasty, and complex. It smells like a much stronger beer, perhaps a barley wine, imperial stout, or Belgian strong ale. It pours a dark mahogany brown with a red glow and a large amount of fluffy, tan head. The delicious flavor contains bitter coffee, chocolate, and roasted nut notes. The taste reminds me of that of the classic Samuel Smith’s Taddy Porter. It also has a good, bitter aftertaste. This medium-bodied brew is crisp and lively in the palate and quite drinkable. <P>I first drank this beer at the Happy Gnome in St. Paul, MN. The other beers I had that night were Rochefort Trappistes 8, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, and La Trappe Quadrupel. Surly Bender more than held its own against this stiff competition. <P>This is a superb, genre-defying, and unforgettable beer. Surly describes it as an "oatmeal brown ale," and that’s an apt characterization, but in the end it tastes most like an interesting, excellent porter. Bender is an exciting product from what is quickly emerging as one of America’s great microbreweries. Good work, Surly! Keep it up! <P>8:5:9:14:18 ==> 4.4 <P>Re-rate, 1-15-08: I had this on tap at The View in St. Louis Park on 1-14-08. I’ve realized for awhile that I had overrated this beer, but every time I have it, it’s so delicious that it has been hard for me to rate it down. I still consider this an excellent beer, but it doesn’t blow me away quite as much as it used to: <P>8:4:8:4:17 ==> 4.1

On Tap at Sweeney’s St. Paul. Deep brown with red tones with tan head. Good lacing throughout drinking duration. Smelled of nuts, lighty fruity, and mild chocolate. Tasted hints of chocolate, carmel and vanilla. None overwhelming. Excellent beer, not overly-carbonated and very smooth. Highly reccommended!

This dude pours a nice dark brown color. The brew is lacking in head. Very, very thin head that didn’t last very long. The head does stay along the eges on the way down. Smell is nto what I expected, a lttle weak. The taste is where it’s at with this one. Some malts in it, almost like a "light porter". Very drinkable, and I will definitely be getting more of this.

Thanks to Ian for smuggling this back from Sturgis. Pours a nice dark brown with a small dark head. Some Chocolate malt, coffee, and I guess oatmeal in the nose. Tingly carbonation in the mouth with chocoalte malt, coffee, and a hint of vanilla. Nice tinge of coffee in the aftertaste. I have been waiting to try this brewery and it certainly did not disappoint. This is a very complex beer and I think a few more would help me get a better understanding of all the flavors. This was a great beer for my number 99!